Playback expansion

ABSTRACT

Examples described herein involve expanding playback of a media item from a first playback device to a second playback device. In one example, a first playback device of a first zone, identifies a second playback device within a proximity of the first playback device, determines that the second playback device is playing a media item as part of a second zone, and based on the determination, joins the second zone and begins playing the media item in synchrony with the second playback device. In another example, a first playback device, while playing a media item as part of a first zone, determines that a second playback device of a second zone has entered a proximity of the first playback device, and responsively, causes the second playback device to join the first zone and begin playing the media item in synchrony with the first playback device.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tomethods, systems, products, features, services, and other elementsdirected to media playback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Options for accessing and listening to digital audio in an out-loudsetting were limited until in 2003, when SONOS, Inc. filed for one ofits first patent applications, entitled “Method for Synchronizing AudioPlayback between Multiple Networked Devices,” and began offering a mediaplayback system for sale in 2005. The Sonos Wireless HiFi System enablespeople to experience music from a plethora of sources via one or morenetworked playback devices. Through a software control applicationinstalled on a smartphone, tablet, or computer, one can play what he orshe wants in any room that has a networked playback device.Additionally, using the controller, for example, different songs can bestreamed to each room with a playback device, rooms can be groupedtogether for synchronous playback, or the same song can be heard in allrooms synchronously.

Given the ever growing interest in digital media, there continues to bea need to develop consumer-accessible technologies to further enhancethe listening experience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an example media playback system configuration in whichcertain embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device;

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device;

FIG. 4 shows an example controller interface;

FIGS. 5A-5B show example media playback system environments;

FIG. 6A shows a flow diagram of a first example method for playbackexpansion;

FIG. 6B shows a flow diagram of a second example method for playbackexpansion;

FIG. 7A shows a flow diagram of a third example method for playbackexpansion; and

FIG. 7B shows a flow diagram of a fourth example method for playbackexpansion.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but it is understood that the inventions are not limited to thearrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

In examples discussed herein, playback of a media item by a firstplayback device may be expanded to a second playback device based onchanges in proximity between the first playback device and the secondplayback device. In some cases, the first playback device may be a partof a first zone of one or more playback devices, and the second playbackdevice may be part of a second zone of one or more playback device. Insuch a case, playback of the media item by the first playback device aspart of the first zone may be expanded to the second zone. In oneinstance, one of the first playback device and the second playbackdevice may be powered from an internal battery. In another instance, oneof the first playback device and the second playback device may bepowered from an external source (i.e. power outlet).

In one example, a first playback device, while a part of a first zone,may identify a second playback device within a proximity of the firstplayback device. In one case, the first playback device may have beenmoved from an initial location to a new location such that the secondplayback device is now within the proximity of the first playbackdevice. In such a case, the first playback device may identify thesecond playback device upon the first playback device being placed atthe new location.

The first playback device may determine that the second playback deviceis playing a media item as part of a second zone, and based on thedetermination, (i) join the second zone and (ii) begin playing the mediaitem in synchrony with the second playback device. As such, in thisexample, playback of the media item may be automatically expanded to thefirst playback device from the second playback device.

In another example, a first playback device may be playing a media itemas a part of a first zone. While the first playback device is playingthe media item as part of the first zone, the first playback device maydetermine that a second playback device has entered a proximity of thefirst playback device. For instance, the second playback device may havebeen moved from an initial location to a new location within theproximity of the first playback device.

The first playback device may then determine that the second playbackdevice is a part of a second zone. The first playback device may thenresponsively transmit a command to cause the second playback device to(i) join the first zone and (ii) begin to play the media item insynchrony with the first playback device. As such, in this example, theplayback of the media item may be automatically expanded from the firstplayback device to the second playback device.

In the two examples above, playback of the media item may beautomatically expanded from a stationary playback device to a playbackdevice that was moved within a proximity of the stationary playbackdevice. Other such examples are also possible.

In a further example, a first playback device may be playing a mediaitem as a part of a first zone. While the first playback device isplaying the media item as part of the first zone, the first playbackdevice may identify a second playback device within a proximity of thefirst playback device. In one case, the first playback device may havebeen moved from an initial location to a new location such that thesecond playback device is now within the proximity of the first playbackdevice. In such a case, the first playback device may identify thesecond playback device upon the first playback device being placed inthe new location.

The first playback device may then determine that the second playbackdevice is a part of a second zone. The first playback device may thenresponsively transmit a command to cause the second playback device to(i) join the first zone and (ii) begin to play the media item insynchrony with the first playback device. As such, in this example, theplayback of the media item may be automatically expanded from the firstplayback device to the second playback device.

In yet another example, the first playback device, while a part of afirst zone, may determine that a second playback device has entered aproximity of the first playback device. For instance, the secondplayback device may have been moved from an initial location to a newlocation within the proximity of the first playback device.

The first playback device may determine that the second playback deviceis playing a media item as part of a second zone, and based on thedetermination, (i) join the second zone and (ii) begin playing the mediaitem in synchrony with the second playback device. As such, in thisexample, playback of the media item may be automatically expanded to thefirst playback device from the second playback device.

In the two examples above, playback of the media item may be expanded toa stationary playback device from a portable playback device that wasmoved within a proximity of the stationary playback device. Other suchexamples are also possible.

As indicated above, the present discussions involve expanding playbackof a media item from one playback device to another playback device. Inone aspect, a first playback device is provided. The first playbackdevice includes a processor and memory having stored thereoninstructions executable by the processor to cause the device to performfunctions. The functions include while the first playback device is apart of a first zone, identifying a second playback device within aproximity of the first playback device, determining that the secondplayback device is playing a media item as part of a second zone, andbased on the determination, (i) joining the second zone and (ii)beginning to play the media item in synchrony with the second playbackdevice.

In another aspect, a first playback device is provided. The firstplayback device includes a processor and memory having stored thereoninstructions executable by the processor to cause the device to performfunctions. The functions include while the first playback device isplaying a media item as a part of a first zone, determining that asecond playback device has entered within a proximity of the firstplayback device, determining that the second playback device is a partof a second zone, and responsively, transmitting a command to cause thesecond playback device to (i) join the first zone and (ii) begin playingthe media item in synchrony with the first playback device.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involves while thefirst playback device is playing a media item as a part of a first zone,determining that a second playback device has entered within a proximityof the first playback device, determining that the second playbackdevice is a part of a second zone, and responsively, transmitting acommand to cause the second playback device to (i) join the first zoneand (ii) begin playing the media item in synchrony with the firstplayback device.

In another aspect, a first playback device is provided. The firstplayback device includes a processor and memory having stored thereoninstructions executable by the processor to cause the device to performfunctions. The functions include while the first playback device isplaying a media item as part of a first zone, identifying a secondplayback device within a proximity of the first playback device,determining that the second playback device is a part of a second zone,and responsively, transmitting a command to cause the second playbackdevice to (i) join the first zone and (ii) begin to play the media itemin synchrony with the first playback device.

In another aspect, a first playback device is provided. The firstplayback device includes a processor and memory having stored thereoninstructions executable by the processor to cause the device to performfunctions. The functions include while the first playback device isplaying a media item as a part of a first zone, determining that asecond playback device has entered within a proximity of the firstplayback device, determining that the second playback device is a partof a second zone, and responsively, transmitting a command to cause thesecond playback device to (i) join the first zone and (ii) begin playingthe media item in synchrony with the first playback device.

In another aspect, a method is provided. The method involvesidentifying, by a first playback device playing a media item as part ofa first zone, a second playback device within a proximity of the firstplayback device, determining that the second playback device is a partof a second zone, and responsively, transmitting a command to cause thesecond playback device to (i) join the first zone and (ii) begin to playthe media item in synchrony with the first playback device.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users” and/or other entities, it should beunderstood that this is for purposes of explanation only. The claimsshould not be interpreted to require action by any such example actorunless explicitly required by the language of the claims themselves. Itwill be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that thisdisclosure includes numerous other embodiments.

II. Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 shows an example configuration of a media playback system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced orimplemented. The media playback system 100 as shown is associated withan example home environment having several rooms and spaces, such as forexample, a master bedroom, an office, a dining room, and a living room.As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the media playback system 100includes playback devices 102-124, control devices 126 and 128, and awired or wireless network router 130.

Further discussions relating to the different components of the examplemedia playback system 100 and how the different components may interactto provide a user with a media experience may be found in the followingsections. While discussions herein may generally refer to the examplemedia playback system 100, technologies described herein are not limitedto applications within, among other things, the home environment asshown in FIG. 1. For instance, the technologies described herein may beuseful in environments where multi-zone audio may be desired, such as,for example, a commercial setting like a restaurant, mall or airport, avehicle like a sports utility vehicle (SUV), bus or car, a ship or boat,an airplane, and so on.

a. Example Playback Devices

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an example playback device200 that may be configured to be one or more of the playback devices102-124 of the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1. The playback device200 may include a processor 202, software components 204, memory 206,audio processing components 208, audio amplifier(s) 210, speaker(s) 212,microphone(s) 220, and a network interface 214 including wirelessinterface(s) 216 and wired interface(s) 218. In one case, the playbackdevice 200 may not include the speaker(s) 212, but rather a speakerinterface for connecting the playback device 200 to external speakers.In another case, the playback device 200 may include neither thespeaker(s) 212 nor the audio amplifier(s) 210, but rather an audiointerface for connecting the playback device 200 to an external audioamplifier or audio-visual receiver.

In one example, the processor 202 may be a clock-driven computingcomponent configured to process input data according to instructionsstored in the memory 206. The memory 206 may be a tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to store instructions executable bythe processor 202. For instance, the memory 206 may be data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more of the software components 204 executableby the processor 202 to achieve certain functions. In one example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 retrieving audio data froman audio source or another playback device. In another example, thefunctions may involve the playback device 200 sending audio data toanother device or playback device on a network. In yet another example,the functions may involve pairing of the playback device 200 with one ormore playback devices to create a multi-channel audio environment.

Certain functions may involve the playback device 200 synchronizingplayback of audio content with one or more other playback devices.During synchronous playback, a listener will preferably not be able toperceive time-delay differences between playback of the audio content bythe playback device 200 and the one or more other playback devices. U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

The memory 206 may further be configured to store data associated withthe playback device 200, such as one or more zones and/or zone groupsthe playback device 200 is a part of, audio sources accessible by theplayback device 200, or a playback queue that the playback device 200(or some other playback device) may be associated with. The data may bestored as one or more state variables that are periodically updated andused to describe the state of the playback device 200. The memory 206may also include the data associated with the state of the other devicesof the media system, and shared from time to time among the devices sothat one or more of the devices have the most recent data associatedwith the system. Other embodiments are also possible.

The audio processing components 208 may include one or more ofdigital-to-analog converters (DAC), analog-to-digital converters (ADC),audio preprocessing components, audio enhancement components, and adigital signal processor (DSP), among others. In one embodiment, one ormore of the audio processing components 208 may be a subcomponent of theprocessor 202. In one example, audio content may be processed and/orintentionally altered by the audio processing components 208 to produceaudio signals. The produced audio signals may then be provided to theaudio amplifier(s) 210 for amplification and playback through speaker(s)212. Particularly, the audio amplifier(s) 210 may include devicesconfigured to amplify audio signals to a level for driving one or moreof the speakers 212. The speaker(s) 212 may include an individualtransducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a complete speaker system involving anenclosure with one or more drivers. A particular driver of thespeaker(s) 212 may include, for example, a subwoofer (e.g., for lowfrequencies), a mid-range driver (e.g., for middle frequencies), and/ora tweeter (e.g., for high frequencies). In some cases, each transducerin the one or more speakers 212 may be driven by an individualcorresponding audio amplifier of the audio amplifier(s) 210. In additionto producing analog signals for playback by the playback device 200, theaudio processing components 208 may be configured to process audiocontent to be sent to one or more other playback devices for playback.

Audio content to be processed and/or played back by the playback device200 may be received from an external source, such as via an audioline-in input connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audio line-inconnection) or the network interface 214.

The microphone(s) 220 may include an audio sensor configured to convertdetected sounds into electrical signals. The electrical signal may beprocessed by the audio processing components 208 and/or the processor202. The microphone(s) 220 may be positioned in one or more orientationsat one or more locations on the playback device 200. The microphone(s)220 may be configured to detect sound within one or more frequencyranges. In one case, one or more of the microphone(s) 220 may beconfigured to detect sound within a frequency range of audio that theplayback device 200 is capable or rendering. In another case, one ormore of the microphone(s) 220 may be configured to detect sound within afrequency range audible to humans. Other examples are also possible.

The network interface 214 may be configured to facilitate a data flowbetween the playback device 200 and one or more other devices on a datanetwork. As such, the playback device 200 may be configured to receiveaudio content over the data network from one or more other playbackdevices in communication with the playback device 200, network deviceswithin a local area network, or audio content sources over a wide areanetwork such as the Internet. In one example, the audio content andother signals transmitted and received by the playback device 200 may betransmitted in the form of digital packet data containing an InternetProtocol (IP)-based source address and IP-based destination addresses.In such a case, the network interface 214 may be configured to parse thedigital packet data such that the data destined for the playback device200 is properly received and processed by the playback device 200.

As shown, the network interface 214 may include wireless interface(s)216 and wired interface(s) 218. The wireless interface(s) 216 mayprovide network interface functions for the playback device 200 towirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., other playbackdevice(s), speaker(s), receiver(s), network device(s), control device(s)within a data network the playback device 200 is associated with) inaccordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wireless standardincluding IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.15, 4Gmobile communication standard, and so on). The wired interface(s) 218may provide network interface functions for the playback device 200 tocommunicate over a wired connection with other devices in accordancewith a communication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.3). While the networkinterface 214 shown in FIG. 2 includes both wireless interface(s) 216and wired interface(s) 218, the network interface 214 may in someembodiments include only wireless interface(s) or only wiredinterface(s).

In one example, the playback device 200 and one other playback devicemay be paired to play two separate audio components of audio content.For instance, playback device 200 may be configured to play a leftchannel audio component, while the other playback device may beconfigured to play a right channel audio component, thereby producing orenhancing a stereo effect of the audio content. The paired playbackdevices (also referred to as “bonded playback devices”) may further playaudio content in synchrony with other playback devices.

In another example, the playback device 200 may be sonicallyconsolidated with one or more other playback devices to form a single,consolidated playback device. A consolidated playback device may beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated playback device or playback devices that are paired,because a consolidated playback device may have additional speakerdrivers through which audio content may be rendered. For instance, ifthe playback device 200 is a playback device designed to render lowfrequency range audio content (i.e. a subwoofer), the playback device200 may be consolidated with a playback device designed to render fullfrequency range audio content. In such a case, the full frequency rangeplayback device, when consolidated with the low frequency playbackdevice 200, may be configured to render only the mid and high frequencycomponents of audio content, while the low frequency range playbackdevice 200 renders the low frequency component of the audio content. Theconsolidated playback device may further be paired with a singleplayback device or yet another consolidated playback device.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. presently offers (or has offered)for sale certain playback devices including a “PLAY:1,” “PLAY:3,”“PLAY:5,” “PLAYBAR,” “CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any otherpast, present, and/or future playback devices may additionally oralternatively be used to implement the playback devices of exampleembodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, it is understood that aplayback device is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 2 orto the SONOS product offerings. For example, a playback device mayinclude a wired or wireless headphone. In another example, a playbackdevice may include or interact with a docking station for personalmobile media playback devices. In yet another example, a playback devicemay be integral to another device or component such as a television, alighting fixture, or some other device for indoor or outdoor use.

b. Example Playback Zone Configurations

Referring back to the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, theenvironment may have one or more playback zones, each with one or moreplayback devices. The media playback system 100 may be established withone or more playback zones, after which one or more zones may be added,or removed to arrive at the example configuration shown in FIG. 1. Eachzone may be given a name according to a different room or space such asan office, bathroom, master bedroom, bedroom, kitchen, dining room,living room, and/or balcony. In one case, a single playback zone mayinclude multiple rooms or spaces. In another case, a single room orspace may include multiple playback zones.

As shown in FIG. 1, the balcony, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, office,and bedroom zones each have one playback device, while the living roomand master bedroom zones each have multiple playback devices. In theliving room zone, playback devices 104, 106, 108, and 110 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as one or more bonded playback devices, as one or moreconsolidated playback devices, or any combination thereof. Similarly, inthe case of the master bedroom, playback devices 122 and 124 may beconfigured to play audio content in synchrony as individual playbackdevices, as a bonded playback device, or as a consolidated playbackdevice.

In one example, one or more playback zones in the environment of FIG. 1may each be playing different audio content. For instance, the user maybe grilling in the balcony zone and listening to hip hop music beingplayed by the playback device 102 while another user may be preparingfood in the kitchen zone and listening to classical music being playedby the playback device 114. In another example, a playback zone may playthe same audio content in synchrony with another playback zone. Forinstance, the user may be in the office zone where the playback device118 is playing the same rock music that is being playing by playbackdevice 102 in the balcony zone. In such a case, playback devices 102 and118 may be playing the rock music in synchrony such that the user mayseamlessly (or at least substantially seamlessly) enjoy the audiocontent that is being played out-loud while moving between differentplayback zones. Synchronization among playback zones may be achieved ina manner similar to that of synchronization among playback devices, asdescribed in previously referenced U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395.

As suggested above, the zone configurations of the media playback system100 may be dynamically modified, and in some embodiments, the mediaplayback system 100 supports numerous configurations. For instance, if auser physically moves one or more playback devices to or from a zone,the media playback system 100 may be reconfigured to accommodate thechange(s). For instance, if the user physically moves the playbackdevice 102 from the balcony zone to the office zone, the office zone maynow include both the playback device 118 and the playback device 102.The playback device 102 may be paired or grouped with the office zoneand/or renamed if so desired via a control device such as the controldevices 126 and 128. On the other hand, if the one or more playbackdevices are moved to a particular area in the home environment that isnot already a playback zone, a new playback zone may be created for theparticular area.

Further, different playback zones of the media playback system 100 maybe dynamically combined into zone groups or split up into individualplayback zones. For instance, the dining room zone and the kitchen zone114 may be combined into a zone group for a dinner party such thatplayback devices 112 and 114 may render audio content in synchrony. Onthe other hand, the living room zone may be split into a television zoneincluding playback device 104, and a listening zone including playbackdevices 106, 108, and 110, if the user wishes to listen to music in theliving room space while another user wishes to watch television.

c. Example Control Devices

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of an example control device 300that may be configured to be one or both of the control devices 126 and128 of the media playback system 100. As shown, the control device 300may include a processor 302, memory 304, a network interface 306, a userinterface 308, and microphone(s) 310. In one example, the control device300 may be a dedicated controller for the media playback system 100. Inanother example, the control device 300 may be a network device on whichmedia playback system controller application software may be installed,such as for example, an iPhone™, iPad™ or any other smart phone, tabletor network device (e.g., a networked computer such as a PC or Mac™).

The processor 302 may be configured to perform functions relevant tofacilitating user access, control, and configuration of the mediaplayback system 100. The memory 304 may be configured to storeinstructions executable by the processor 302 to perform those functions.The memory 304 may also be configured to store the media playback systemcontroller application software and other data associated with the mediaplayback system 100 and the user.

The microphone(s) 310 may include an audio sensor configured to convertdetected sounds into electrical signals. The electrical signal may beprocessed by the processor 302. In one case, if the control device 300is a device that may also be used as a means for voice communication orvoice recording, one or more of the microphone(s) 310 may be amicrophone for facilitating those functions. For instance, the one ormore of the microphone(s) 310 may be configured to detect sound within afrequency range that a human is capable of producing and/or a frequencyrange audible to humans. Other examples are also possible.

In one example, the network interface 306 may be based on an industrystandard (e.g., infrared, radio, wired standards including IEEE 802.3,wireless standards including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,802.11ac, 802.15, 4G mobile communication standard, and so on). Thenetwork interface 306 may provide a means for the control device 300 tocommunicate with other devices in the media playback system 100. In oneexample, data and information (e.g., such as a state variable) may becommunicated between control device 300 and other devices via thenetwork interface 306. For instance, playback zone and zone groupconfigurations in the media playback system 100 may be received by thecontrol device 300 from a playback device or another network device, ortransmitted by the control device 300 to another playback device ornetwork device via the network interface 306. In some cases, the othernetwork device may be another control device.

Playback device control commands such as volume control and audioplayback control may also be communicated from the control device 300 toa playback device via the network interface 306. As suggested above,changes to configurations of the media playback system 100 may also beperformed by a user using the control device 300. The configurationchanges may include adding/removing one or more playback devices to/froma zone, adding/removing one or more zones to/from a zone group, forminga bonded or consolidated player, separating one or more playback devicesfrom a bonded or consolidated player, among others. Accordingly, thecontrol device 300 may sometimes be referred to as a controller, whetherthe control device 300 is a dedicated controller or a network device onwhich media playback system controller application software isinstalled.

The user interface 308 of the control device 300 may be configured tofacilitate user access and control of the media playback system 100, byproviding a controller interface such as the controller interface 400shown in FIG. 4. The controller interface 400 includes a playbackcontrol region 410, a playback zone region 420, a playback status region430, a playback queue region 440, and an audio content sources region450. The user interface 400 as shown is just one example of a userinterface that may be provided on a network device such as the controldevice 300 of FIG. 3 (and/or the control devices 126 and 128 of FIG. 1)and accessed by users to control a media playback system such as themedia playback system 100. Other user interfaces of varying formats,styles, and interactive sequences may alternatively be implemented onone or more network devices to provide comparable control access to amedia playback system.

The playback control region 410 may include selectable (e.g., by way oftouch or by using a cursor) icons to cause playback devices in aselected playback zone or zone group to play or pause, fast forward,rewind, skip to next, skip to previous, enter/exit shuffle mode,enter/exit repeat mode, enter/exit cross fade mode. The playback controlregion 410 may also include selectable icons to modify equalizationsettings, and playback volume, among other possibilities.

The playback zone region 420 may include representations of playbackzones within the media playback system 100. In some embodiments, thegraphical representations of playback zones may be selectable to bringup additional selectable icons to manage or configure the playback zonesin the media playback system, such as a creation of bonded zones,creation of zone groups, separation of zone groups, and renaming of zonegroups, among other possibilities.

For example, as shown, a “group” icon may be provided within each of thegraphical representations of playback zones. The “group” icon providedwithin a graphical representation of a particular zone may be selectableto bring up options to select one or more other zones in the mediaplayback system to be grouped with the particular zone. Once grouped,playback devices in the zones that have been grouped with the particularzone will be configured to play audio content in synchrony with theplayback device(s) in the particular zone. Analogously, a “group” iconmay be provided within a graphical representation of a zone group. Inthis case, the “group” icon may be selectable to bring up options todeselect one or more zones in the zone group to be removed from the zonegroup. Other interactions and implementations for grouping andungrouping zones via a user interface such as the user interface 400 arealso possible. The representations of playback zones in the playbackzone region 420 may be dynamically updated as playback zone or zonegroup configurations are modified.

The playback status region 430 may include graphical representations ofaudio content that is presently being played, previously played, orscheduled to play next in the selected playback zone or zone group. Theselected playback zone or zone group may be visually distinguished onthe user interface, such as within the playback zone region 420 and/orthe playback status region 430. The graphical representations mayinclude track title, artist name, album name, album year, track length,and other relevant information that may be useful for the user to knowwhen controlling the media playback system via the user interface 400.

The playback queue region 440 may include graphical representations ofaudio content in a playback queue associated with the selected playbackzone or zone group. In some embodiments, each playback zone or zonegroup may be associated with a playback queue containing informationcorresponding to zero or more audio items for playback by the playbackzone or zone group. For instance, each audio item in the playback queuemay comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI), a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or some other identifier that may be used by a playbackdevice in the playback zone or zone group to find and/or retrieve theaudio item from a local audio content source or a networked audiocontent source, possibly for playback by the playback device.

In one example, a playlist may be added to a playback queue, in whichcase information corresponding to each audio item in the playlist may beadded to the playback queue. In another example, audio items in aplayback queue may be saved as a playlist. In a further example, aplayback queue may be empty, or populated but “not in use” when theplayback zone or zone group is playing continuously streaming audiocontent, such as Internet radio that may continue to play untilotherwise stopped, rather than discrete audio items that have playbackdurations. In an alternative embodiment, a playback queue can includeInternet radio and/or other streaming audio content items and be “inuse” when the playback zone or zone group is playing those items. Otherexamples are also possible.

When playback zones or zone groups are “grouped” or “ungrouped,”playback queues associated with the affected playback zones or zonegroups may be cleared or re-associated. For example, if a first playbackzone including a first playback queue is grouped with a second playbackzone including a second playback queue, the established zone group mayhave an associated playback queue that is initially empty, that containsaudio items from the first playback queue (such as if the secondplayback zone was added to the first playback zone), that contains audioitems from the second playback queue (such as if the first playback zonewas added to the second playback zone), or a combination of audio itemsfrom both the first and second playback queues. Subsequently, if theestablished zone group is ungrouped, the resulting first playback zonemay be re-associated with the previous first playback queue, or beassociated with a new playback queue that is empty or contains audioitems from the playback queue associated with the established zone groupbefore the established zone group was ungrouped. Similarly, theresulting second playback zone may be re-associated with the previoussecond playback queue, or be associated with a new playback queue thatis empty, or contains audio items from the playback queue associatedwith the established zone group before the established zone group wasungrouped. Other examples are also possible.

Referring back to the user interface 400 of FIG. 4, the graphicalrepresentations of audio content in the playback queue region 440 mayinclude track titles, artist names, track lengths, and other relevantinformation associated with the audio content in the playback queue. Inone example, graphical representations of audio content may beselectable to bring up additional selectable icons to manage and/ormanipulate the playback queue and/or audio content represented in theplayback queue. For instance, a represented audio content may be removedfrom the playback queue, moved to a different position within theplayback queue, or selected to be played immediately, or after anycurrently playing audio content, among other possibilities. A playbackqueue associated with a playback zone or zone group may be stored in amemory on one or more playback devices in the playback zone or zonegroup, on a playback device that is not in the playback zone or zonegroup, and/or some other designated device.

The audio content sources region 450 may include graphicalrepresentations of selectable audio content sources from which audiocontent may be retrieved and played by the selected playback zone orzone group. Discussions pertaining to audio content sources may be foundin the following section.

d. Example Audio Content Sources

As indicated previously, one or more playback devices in a zone or zonegroup may be configured to retrieve for playback audio content (e.g.according to a corresponding URI or URL for the audio content) from avariety of available audio content sources. In one example, audiocontent may be retrieved by a playback device directly from acorresponding audio content source (e.g., a line-in connection). Inanother example, audio content may be provided to a playback device overa network via one or more other playback devices or network devices.

Example audio content sources may include a memory of one or moreplayback devices in a media playback system such as the media playbacksystem 100 of FIG. 1, local music libraries on one or more networkdevices (such as a control device, a network-enabled personal computer,or a networked-attached storage (NAS), for example), streaming audioservices providing audio content via the Internet (e.g., the cloud), oraudio sources connected to the media playback system via a line-in inputconnection on a playback device or network devise, among otherpossibilities.

In some embodiments, audio content sources may be regularly added orremoved from a media playback system such as the media playback system100 of FIG. 1. In one example, an indexing of audio items may beperformed whenever one or more audio content sources are added, removedor updated. Indexing of audio items may involve scanning foridentifiable audio items in all folders/directory shared over a networkaccessible by playback devices in the media playback system, andgenerating or updating an audio content database containing metadata(e.g., title, artist, album, track length, among others) and otherassociated information, such as a URI or URL for each identifiable audioitem found. Other examples for managing and maintaining audio contentsources may also be possible.

The above discussions relating to playback devices, control devices,playback zone configurations, and media item sources provide only someexamples of operating environments within which functions and methodsdescribed below may be implemented. Other operating environments andconfigurations of media playback systems, playback devices, and networkdevices not explicitly described herein may also be applicable andsuitable for implementation of the functions and methods.

III. Example Playback Device Movement within a Playback Environment

As indicated above, examples discussed herein involve expanding playbackof a media item from a first playback device to a second playback devicebased on changes in proximity between the first playback device and thesecond playback device. FIGS. 5A and 5B show example media playbackenvironments within which such examples may be implemented.

The example playback environments of FIGS. 5A and 5B may includeportions of the example home environment shown in and described above inconnection to FIG. 1. Accordingly, the media playback environments maybe associated with a media playback system 500 that includes a portionof the devices of the media playback system 100, also shown in anddescribed above in connection to FIG. 1. For instance, playback devices502-514 of the media playback system 500 may correspond to playbackdevices 102-114 of the media playback system 100. Accordingly, playbackdevices 502-514 may each be similar to the playback device 200 shown inand described in connection to FIG. 2.

Playback devices 502-514 may each be configured to be powered from anexternal power source (i.e. power outlet) via a power cord and/or adocking station via which a docked playback device may receive powerfrom the external power source. In addition, one or more of the playbackdevices 502-514 may include an internal battery from which a respectiveplayback device may be powered. In one such case, the respectiveplayback device may be configured to be powered from the external powersource by default, if the external power source is available, andalternatively powered from the internal battery if the external powersource is unavailable (i.e. playback device is unplugged or undocked).Other power sources and configurations are also possible.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, playback device 502 may be a part of a zoneassociated with the balcony, playback devices 504-510 may be part of azone associated with the living room, playback device 512 may be part ofa zone associated with the dining room, and playback device 514 may bepart of a zone associated with the kitchen. As discussed above, eachplayback device may be ungrouped from one zone and added to another zoneor used to form a new zone. In addition, each zone may be added to azone group or removed from a zone group. In FIG. 5A, playback device 502moved from a location “A” on the balcony to a location “B” in the livingroom. In FIG. 5B, the playback device 502 then moved from the location Bto location “C” in the dining room.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7A, and 7B show flow diagrams of example methods 600, 650,700, and 750, respectively, for expanding playback of a media item froma first playback device to a second playback device based on changes inproximity between the first playback device and the second playbackdevice. Methods 600, 650, 700, and 750 present example methods that canbe implemented within an operating environment involving, for example,the media playback system 100 of FIG. 1, one or more of the playbackdevice 200 of FIG. 2, and/or the media playbacks environment 500 ofFIGS. 5A and 5B. In one example, the methods 600, 650, 700, and 750 mayeach be performed in whole or in part by a computing device incommunication with a media playback system. For instance, the methods600, 650, 700, and 750 may be performed by one or more of the playbackdevices 502-514 of FIGS. 5A and 5B. In such cases, one or more of theplayback devices 502-514 may have installed thereon a softwareapplication that includes instructions executable by a processor of arespective playback device to cause the respective playback device toperform the functions of methods 600, 650, 700, and/or 750.

Methods 600, 650, 700, and 750 may each include one or more operations,functions, or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 602-606,652-656, 702-706, and 752-756, respectively. Although the respectiveblocks are illustrated in sequential order, these blocks may also beperformed in parallel, and/or in a different order than those describedherein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks,divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desiredimplementation. In addition, for the methods 600, 650, 700, 750, andother processes and methods disclosed herein, the flowcharts showfunctionality and operation of only a few possible implementations ofpresent embodiments. In this regard, each block may represent a module,a segment, or a portion of program code, which includes one or moreinstructions executable by a processor for implementing specific logicalfunctions or steps in the process. The program code may be stored on anytype of computer readable medium, for example, such as a storage deviceincluding a disk or hard drive.

The computer readable medium may include non-transitory computerreadable medium, for example, such as computer-readable media thatstores data for short periods of time like register memory, processorcache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium mayalso include non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent longterm storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the method 600 and other processes and methods disclosedherein, each block may represent circuitry that is wired to perform thespecific logical functions in the process.

IV. First Example Method for Playback Expansion

As shown in FIG. 6A, the method 600 involves at block 602, identifyingby a first playback device that is part of a first zone, a secondplayback device within a proximity of the first playback device; atblock 604, determining that the second playback device is playing amedia item as part of a second zone; and at block 606, based on thedetermination, (i) joining the second zone and (ii) beginning to playthe media item in synchrony with the second playback device. The method600 involves the first playback device expanding playback of the mediaitem from the second playback device to the first playback device whenthe first playback device is placed such that the second playback deviceis within the proximity of the first playback device.

a. Identifying a Second Playback Device within a Proximity of the FirstPlayback Device

At block 602, the method 600 involves identifying by a first playbackdevice that is part of a first zone, a second playback device within aproximity of the first playback device. Referring to FIG. 5A forillustrative purposes, the first playback device may be the playbackdevice 502, the first zone may be the balcony zone, and the secondplayback device may be the playback device 504.

As shown, the playback device 502, while a part of the balcony zone, maymove from location A on the balcony to location B in the living room. Inone example, the playback device 502 may be powered from an externalpower source while at location A (i.e. via a dock and/or a power plug,among other possibilities), and may be powered from an internal batterywhen the playback device 502 is removed from location A (i.e. undockedand/or unplugged from the external power source). As such, the playbackdevice 502 may be powered from the internal battery when the playbackdevice 502 is at location B.

At the location B, the playback device 502 may identify that theplayback device 504 is now within a proximity of playback device 504.The playback device 504 may be powered from an external power source. Inone example, the playback device 502 may identify that the playbackdevice 504 is within the proximity of the playback device 502 based onone or more proximity sensors on the playback device 502. The one ormore proximity sensors may include one or more of a capacitive sensor,an inductive sensor, a laser sensor, a magnetic sensor, an infraredsensor, a photo-sensor, an acoustic sensor, and a wireless signalsensor, among other possibilities.

In one instance, a wireless signal sensor of the playback device 502 maydetect a wireless signal emitted from a playback device with a signalstrength above a threshold value, indicating that the playback device iswithin the proximity of the playback device 502. Based on the detection,the playback device 502 may parse the detected wireless signal toidentify the playback device 504 as the source of the detected wirelesssignal and accordingly, as the playback device within the proximity ofthe playback device 502.

In another instance, a photo-sensor on the playback device 502 maydetect that a playback device is within a proximity (i.e. thresholdphoto-sensing range) of the playback device 502. The playback device502, in response to the detection, may transmit to the detected playbackdevice, a request for information identifying the detected playbackdevice, and subsequently identify the playback device 504 as thedetected playback device based on a received response to the request.Other examples for identifying the playback device 504 as the playbackdevice within the proximity of the first playback device are alsopossible.

As mentioned above, the playback device 502 moved from location A tolocation B. In one example, block 602 may be performed once the playbackdevice 502 has been placed at location B. In one case, the playbackdevice 502 may include one or more movement sensors (i.e.accelerometers, among other possibilities). As such, the movementsensors of the playback device 502 may detect a placement of theplayback device 502 by detecting cessation of movement followingmovement of the playback device 502. The playback device 502 may thenperform block 602 in response to detecting the placement of the playbackdevice 502. Other examples are also possible.

b. Determining that the Second Playback Device is Playing a Media Itemas Part of a Second Zone

At block 604, the method 600 involves determining that the secondplayback device is playing a media item as part of a second zone.Continuing with the example above, upon identifying the playback device504 within the proximity of the playback device 502, the playback device502 may determine that that playback device 504 is playing a media itemas part of the living room zone and is not a part of the balcony zone.

In one example, the playback device 502 may determine that the playbackdevice 504 is playing the media item as part of the living room zone bytransmitting to the playback device 504, a request for informationassociated with the playback device 504, and subsequently receiveinformation from the playback device 504 indicating that the playbackdevice 504 is playing the media item and is a part of the living roomzone.

In another example, the playback device 502 may determine that theplayback device 504 is playing the media item as part of the living roomzone by transmitting to one or more playback devices in the mediaplayback system 500 (including or excluding the playback device 504), arequest for information associated with the playback device 504, andsubsequently receive information from the one or more playback devicesin the media playback system 500, information indicating that theplayback device 504 is playing the media item as part of the living roomzone.

In yet another example, the playback device 502 may determine that theplayback device 504 is playing the media item as part of the living roomzone by retrieving a locally stored state variable associated with theplayback device 504. For instance, the playback device 502 (and one ormore other playback devices in the media playback system 500) maymaintain state variables associated with itself and other playbackdevices in the media playback system 500. A state variable may beupdated for a corresponding playback device periodically and/or when aconfiguration and/or status of the corresponding playback devicechanges. For instance, a state variable corresponding to the playbackdevice 504 may be updated when the playback device 504 began playing themedia item as part of the living room zone. As such, the playback device502 may retrieve the locally stored state variable that is associatedwith the playback device 504 to determine that the playback device 504is playing the media item as part of the living room. Other examples arealso possible.

c. Based on the Determination, (i) Joining the Second Zone and (ii)Beginning to Play the Media Item in Synchrony with the Second PlaybackDevice

At block 606, the method 600 involves based on the determination, (i)joining the second zone and (ii) beginning to play the media item insynchrony with the second playback device. Continuing with the exampleabove, the playback device 502 may join the living room zone and beginplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 504. Inother words, the playback device 502 may join the living room zone, andaccordingly begin playing the media item as part of the living roomzone, which involves playing the media item in synchrony with theplayback device 504. As indicated above, U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395entitled, “System and method for synchronizing operations among aplurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices,”which is hereby incorporated by reference, provides in more detail someexamples for audio playback synchronization among playback devices.

In one example, the playback device 502 may begin playing the media itemin synchrony with the playback device 504 at a volume level that theplayback device 502 was previously playing media content. In anotherexample, the playback device 502 may begin playing the media item insynchrony with the playback device 504 at a particular volume leveldetermined based on a playback volume level of the playback device 504.In one case, if the playback device 502 is a same type of playbackdevice as the playback device 504 (i.e. same model), the particularvolume level may be the same as the volume level of the playback device504. In another case, if the playback device 502 has a lower audiooutput power (i.e. lower wattage amplifier, among other possibilities),the particular volume level may be higher than the volume level of theplayback device 504 in order to properly match the playback volumeoutput of the playback device 504. Analogously, if the playback device502 has a higher audio output power (i.e. higher wattage amplifier,among other possibilities), the particular volume level may be lowerthan the volume level of the playback device 504. Other cases are alsopossible.

In a further example, the playback device 502, when beginning to playthe media item in synchrony with the playback device 504, may graduallyincrease a playback volume of the media item from a first playbackvolume to a second playback volume over a duration of time. In thisexample, the first playback volume may be a volume level of zero, andthe second playback volume may be the particular playback volumedetermined based on the playback volume of the playback device 504, asdiscussed above. Examples of the duration of time may be anywherebetween 3 to 15 seconds. In one case, the volume increase from the firstplayback volume to the second playback volume may be performed at apredetermined rate, such as 2 volume units per second. In this case, theduration of time may vary based on a difference between the firstplayback volume and the second playback volume. Other examples are alsopossible.

Once the playback device 502 has joined the living room zone and begunplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 504, theplayback device 502 may provide an indication to any users or listenersin the playback environment that the playback device 502 is joining orhas joined the living room zone. The indication may include one or moreof a playback of an audio signal, a flashing of a light source on theplayback device 502, and a vibration of the playback device 502, amongother possibilities.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the playback device 502, after being placed atlocation B in the living room zone, may be subsequently moved tolocation C in the dining room zone. In one example, if the playbackdevice 502 has already joined the living room zone and/or is alreadyplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 504 whenthe playback device 502 is subsequently moved to location C, theplayback device 502 may again perform the method 600 of FIG. 6A. In thiscase, however, playback device 512 may be the second playback device ofmethod 600, and the dining room zone may be the second zone of method600.

In another example, the playback device 502 may be subsequently movedfrom location B before the playback device 502 has completed a processof joining the living room zone and/or beginning to play the media itemin synchrony with the playback device 504. This may be the case when auser who is moving the playback device 502 from the balcony to thedining room, on the way to the dining room, temporarily places theplayback device 502 in the living room near the playback device 504before eventually moving the playback device 502 to the dining room. Theuser may perhaps be dropping off an item from the balcony in the livingroom and/or picking up an item in the living room to also bring to thedining room when the playback device 502 is temporarily placed atlocation B. Whichever the case, the temporary placement of the playbackdevice 502 in the living room near the playback device 504 mayaccordingly cause the playback device 502 to begin to perform method600.

In this example, the playback device 502, while in the process ofjoining the living room zone and/or beginning to play the media item insynchrony with the playback device 504, may detect movement of theplayback device 502 (i.e. via the one or more movement sensors), andresponsively abort joining the second zone and cease beginning to playthe media item in synchrony with the playback device 504. In one case,the process of joining the living room zone and beginning to play themedia item in synchrony with the playback device 504 may include theincreasing of the playback volume of the media item by the playbackdevice 502 to the particular playback volume determined based on theplayback volume of the playback device 504, as discussed above. Otherexamples are also possible.

V. Second Example Method for Playback Expansion

As shown in FIG. 6B, the method 650 involves at block 652, determiningby a first playback device playing a media item as part of a first zone,that a second playback device has entered a proximity of the firstplayback device; at block 654, determining that the second playbackdevice is a part of a second zone; and at block 656, responsivelytransmitting a command to cause the second playback device to (i) jointhe first zone and (ii) begin to play the media item in synchrony withthe first playback device. The method 650 involves the first playbackdevice expanding playback of the media item from the first playbackdevice to the second playback device when the second playback device isplaced within the proximity of the first playback device.

a. Determining that a Second Playback Device has Entered within aProximity of the First Playback Device

At block 652, the method 650 involves determining by a first playbackdevice playing a media item as part of a first zone, that a secondplayback device has entered a proximity of the first playback device.Referring to FIG. 5A for illustrative purposes, the first playbackdevice may be the playback device 504, the first zone may be a livingroom zone, and the second playback device may be the playback device502.

As shown, the playback device 504 may be playing a media item as part ofthe living room zone, when the playback device 502 moved to location B,within a proximity of the playback device 504. In one example, theplayback device 504 may be powered from an external power source whilethe playback device 502 may be powered from an internal battery.

With playback device 502 now at location B, the playback device 504 maydetermine that the playback device 502 has entered within the proximityof playback device 504. In one example, the playback device 504 maydetermine that the playback device 502 has entered within the proximityof the playback device 504 based on one or more proximity sensors on theplayback device 504. The one or more proximity sensors may include oneor more of a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, a laser sensor, amagnetic sensor, an infrared sensor, a photo-sensor, an acoustic sensor,and a wireless signal sensor, among other possibilities.

In one instance, a wireless signal sensor of the playback device 504 maydetect a wireless signal emitted from a playback device with a signalstrength that is now above a threshold value, indicating that theplayback device has now entered within the proximity of the playbackdevice 504. Based on the detection, the playback device 504 may parsethe detected wireless signal to identify the playback device 502 as thesource of the detected wireless signal and accordingly, as the playbackdevice within the proximity of the playback device 504.

In another instance, a photo-sensor on the playback device 504 maydetect that a playback device has entered within a proximity (i.e.photo-sensing range) of the playback device 504. The playback device504, in response to the detection, may transmit to the detected playbackdevice, a request for information identifying the detected playbackdevice, and subsequently identify the playback device 502 as thedetected playback device based on a received response to the request.Other examples for identifying the playback device 502 as the playbackdevice that has entered within the proximity of the first playbackdevice are also possible.

b. Determining that the Second Playback Device is a Part of a SecondZone

At block 654, the method 650 involves determining that the secondplayback device is a part of a second zone. Continuing with the exampleabove, upon determining that the playback device 502 has entered withinthe proximity of the playback device 504, the playback device 504 maydetermine that that playback device 502 is a part of the balcony zoneand not a part of the living room zone.

In one example, the playback device 504 may determine that the playbackdevice 502 is a part of the balcony zone by transmitting to the playbackdevice 502 a request for information associated with the playback device502, and subsequently receive information from the playback device 502indicating that the playback device 502 is a part of the balcony zone.

In another example, the playback device 504 may determine that theplayback device 502 is a part of the balcony zone by transmitting to oneor more playback devices in the media playback system 500 (including orexcluding the playback device 502), a request for information associatedwith the playback device 502, and subsequently receive information fromthe one or more playback devices in the media playback system 500,information indicating that the playback device 502 is a part of thebalcony zone.

In yet another example, the playback device 504 may determine that theplayback device 502 is a part of the balcony zone by retrieving alocally stored state variable associated with the playback device 502.For instance, the playback device 504 (and one or more other playbackdevices in the media playback system 500) may maintain state variablesassociated with itself and other playback devices in the media playbacksystem 500. A state variable may have been updated for a correspondingplayback device periodically and/or when a configuration and/or statusof the corresponding playback device changes. For instance, a statevariable corresponding to the playback device 502 may be updated whenthe playback device 502 became a part of the balcony zone. As such, theplayback device 504 may retrieve the locally stored state variable thatis associated with the playback device 502 to determine that theplayback device 502 is a part of the balcony. Other examples are alsopossible.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the playback device 502 moved from location A tolocation B, within the proximity of the playback device 504. In oneexample, block 654 may be performed by the playback device 504 once theplayback device 504 determines that the playback device 502 has enteredwithin the proximity of the playback device 504. In another example, theplayback device 504 may determine that the playback device 502 has beenplaced, and is not actively in transition, before performing block 654.

In one case, the playback device 504 may determine using the one or moreproximity sensors on the playback device 504, whether the playbackdevice 502 is still in transition. For instance, if the one or moreproximity sensors detect a substantially consistent presence of theplayback device 502 within the proximity of the playback device 504, theplayback device 504 may determine that the playback device 502 has beenplaced and proceed to perform block 654. In another instance, if the oneor more proximity sensors detect a substantially varying presence of theplayback device 502 within the proximity of the playback device 504, theplayback device 504 may determine that the playback device 502 has notbeen placed and may not proceed to perform block 654.

In another case, the playback device 504, prior to performing block 654,may transmit to the playback device 502 a request for informationindicating whether the playback device 502 has been placed. The playbackdevice 504 may then determine whether to proceed to perform block 654based on a response from the playback device 502 indicating whether theplayback device 502 has been placed. As indicated previously, theplayback device 502 may include one or more movement sensors (i.e.accelerometers, among other possibilities) to determine whether theplayback device 502 has been placed. Other examples are also possible.

c. Responsively, Transmitting a Command to Cause the Second PlaybackDevice to (i) Join the First Zone and (ii) Begin to Play the Media Itemin Synchrony with the First Playback Device

At block 656, the method 650 involves responsively, transmitting acommand to cause the second playback device to (i) join the first zoneand (ii) begin to play the media item in synchrony with the firstplayback device. Continuing with the example above, the playback device504 may transmit to the playback device 502, a command to cause theplayback device 502 to join the living room zone and begin to play themedia item in synchrony with the playback device 504. In one case,causing the playback device 502 to join the living room zone mayaccordingly cause the playback device 502 to begin playing the mediaitem as part of the living room zone, which involves playing the mediaitem in synchrony with the playback device 504. As indicated above, U.S.Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and method for synchronizingoperations among a plurality of independently clocked digital dataprocessing devices,” which is hereby incorporated by reference, providesin more detail some examples for audio playback synchronization amongplayback devices.

In one example, if the playback device 504 proceeded to block 654 fromblock 652 without determining whether the playback device 502 has beenplaced, the playback device 504 may determine whether the playbackdevice 502 has been placed prior to performing block 656.

In one example, a playback volume of the playback device 502 when theplayback device 502 begins to play the media content in synchrony withthe playback device 504 may be determined by the playback device 502. Inanother example, the playback volume of the playback device 502 when theplayback device begins to play the media content in synchrony with theplayback device 504 may be according to the command transmitted from theplayback device 504 to the playback device 502 to cause the playbackdevice 502 to join the living room zone and play the media item insynchrony with the playback device 504.

In one case, the command may cause the playback device 502 to beginplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 504 at avolume level that the playback device 502 was previously playing mediacontent. In another case, the command may cause the playback device 502to begin playing the media item in synchrony with the playback device504 at a particular volume level determined based on a playback volumelevel of the playback device 504. In one instance, if the playbackdevice 502 is a same type of playback device as the playback device 504(i.e. same model), the particular volume level may be the same as thevolume level of the playback device 504. In another instance, if theplayback device 502 has a lower audio output power (i.e. lower wattageamplifier, among other possibilities), the particular volume level maybe higher than the volume level of the playback device 504 to properlymatch the playback volume output of the playback device 504.Analogously, if the playback device 502 has a higher audio output power(i.e. higher wattage amplifier, among other possibilities), theparticular volume level may be lower than the volume level of theplayback device 504. Other examples are also possible.

In a further case, the command may cause the playback device 502, whenbeginning to play the media item in synchrony with the playback device504, to gradually increase a playback volume of the media item from afirst playback volume to a second playback volume over a duration oftime. In this example, the first playback volume may be a volume levelof zero, and the second playback volume may be the particular playbackvolume determined based on the playback volume of the playback device504, as discussed above. Examples of the duration of time may beanywhere between 3 to 15 seconds. In one instance, the volume increasefrom the first playback volume to the second playback volume may beperformed at a predetermined rate, such as 2 volume units per second. Inthis instance, the duration of time may vary based on the differencebetween the first playback volume and the second playback volume. Otherexamples are also possible.

In one example, the command from the playback device 504 to cause theplayback device 502 to join the living room zone and begin to play themedia item in synchrony with the playback device 504 may further includea command to cause the playback device 502 to provide an indication toany users or listeners in the playback environment that the playbackdevice 502 is joining the living room zone. The indication may includeone or more of a playback of an audio signal, a flashing of a lightsource on the playback device 502, and a vibration of the playbackdevice 502, among other possibilities.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the playback device 502, after entering within theproximity of the playback device 504 and/or being placed at location B,in the living room zone, may be subsequently moved to location C in thedining room zone. In one example, the playback device 502 may besubsequently moved from the location B before the playback device 502has completed a process of joining the living room zone and/or beginningto play the media item in synchrony with the playback device 504. Thismay be the case when a user, who is moving the playback device 502 fromthe balcony to the dining room, on the way to the dining room,temporarily places the playback device 502 in the living room near theplayback device 504 before eventually moving the playback device 502 tothe dining room. The user may perhaps be dropping off an item from thebalcony in the living room and/or picking up an item in the living roomto also bring to the dining room when the playback device 502 istemporarily placed at location B. Whichever the case, the temporaryplacement of the playback device 502 in the living room near theplayback device 504 may accordingly cause the playback device 504 tobegin performing the method 650.

In one example, if the playback device 504 determines within apredetermined duration of time after transmitting the command to theplayback device 502, that the playback device 502 is moving, theplayback device 504 may transmit to the playback device 502, a commandto cause the playback device 502 to abort joining the living room zoneand cease beginning to play the media item.

The predetermined duration of time may be determined based on anexpected duration of time between when the playback device 504 transmitsthe command to cause the playback device 502 to join the living roomzone and begin playing the media item in synchrony with the playbackdevice 504 and when the playback device 502 completes joining the livingroom zone and beginning playback of the media item in synchrony with theplayback device 504. In one case, the predetermined duration of time mayinclude the duration of time for the playback volume of the media itemby the playback device 502 to increase to the particular playback volumedetermined based on the playback volume of the playback device 504, asdiscussed above. Other examples are also possible.

In another example, the command transmitted from the playback device 504to the playback device 502 to cause the playback device 502 to join theliving room zone and begin playing the media item in synchrony with theplayback device 504 may further include a command to cause the playbackdevice 502 to transmit a confirmation message upon completion of joiningthe living room zone and beginning to play the media item in synchronywith the playback device 504. In this example, if the playback device504 determines, prior to receiving the confirmation message from theplayback device 502, that the playback device 502 is moving, theplayback device 504 may transmit to the playback device 502, a commandto cause the playback device 502 to abort joining the living room zoneand cease beginning to play the media.

In one case, the playback device 504 may determine that the playbackdevice 502 is moving if the one or more proximity sensors on theplayback device 504 detect a substantially varying presence of theplayback device 502 within the proximity of the playback device 504. Inanother case, the playback device 504 may determine that the playbackdevice 502 is moving if the playback device 504 receives from theplayback device 502, information indicating that the playback device 502is moving. Other examples are also possible.

VI. Third Example Method for Playback Expansion

As shown in FIG. 7A, the method 700 involves at block 702, identifyingby a first playback device playing a media item as part of a first zone,a second playback device within a proximity of the first playbackdevice; at block 704, determining that the second playback device is apart of a second zone; and at block 706, responsively transmitting acommand to cause the second playback device to (i) join the first zoneand (ii) play the media item in synchrony with the first playbackdevice. The method 700 involves the first playback device expandingplayback of the media item from the first playback device to the secondplayback device when the first playback device is placed such that thesecond playback device is within the proximity of the first playbackdevice.

a. Identifying a Second Playback Device within a Proximity of the FirstPlayback Device

At block 702, the method 700 involves identifying by a first playbackdevice playing a media item as part of a first zone, a second playbackdevice within a proximity of the first playback device. Referring toFIG. 5A for illustrative purposes, the first playback device may be theplayback device 502, the first zone may be a balcony zone, and thesecond playback device may be the playback device 504.

As shown, the playback device 502, while playing the media item as apart of the balcony zone, may move from location A on the balcony tolocation B in the living room. In one example, the playback device 502may be powered from an external power source while at location A (i.e.via a dock and/or a power plug, among other possibilities), and may bepowered from an internal battery when the playback device 502 is removedfrom location A (i.e. undocked and/or unplugged from the external powersource). As such, the playback device 502 may be powered from theinternal battery when the playback device 502 is at the location 502.

At the location B, the playback device 502 may identify that theplayback device 504 is now within a proximity of playback device 502.The playback device 504 may be powered from an external power source. Inone example, the playback device 502 may identify that the playbackdevice 504 is within the proximity of the playback device 502 based onone or more proximity sensors on the playback device 502. The one ormore proximity sensors may include one or more of a capacitive sensor,an inductive sensor, a laser sensor, a magnetic sensor, an infraredsensor, a photo-sensor, an acoustic sensor, and a wireless signalsensor, among other possibilities.

In one instance, a wireless signal sensor of the playback device 502 maydetect a wireless signal emitted from a playback device with a signalstrength above a threshold value, indicating that the playback device iswithin the proximity of the playback device 502. Based on the detection,the playback device 502 may parse the detected wireless signal toidentify the playback device 504 as the source of the detected wirelesssignal and accordingly, as the playback device within the proximity ofthe playback device 502.

In another instance, a photo-sensor on the playback device 502 maydetect that a playback device is within a proximity (i.e. photo-sensingrange) of the playback device 502. The playback device 502, in responseto the detection, may transmit to the detected playback device, arequest for information identifying the detected playback device, andsubsequently identify the playback device 504 as the detected playbackdevice based on a received response to the request. Other examples foridentifying the playback device 504 as the playback device within theproximity of the first playback device are also possible.

As mentioned above, the playback device 502 moved from location A tolocation B. In one example, block 702 may be performed once the playbackdevice 502 has been placed at location B. In one case, the playbackdevice 502 may include one or more movement sensors (i.e.accelerometers, among other possibilities). As such, the movementsensors of the playback device 502 may detect a placement of theplayback device 502 by detecting cessation of movement followingmovement of the playback device 502. The playback device 502 may thenperform block 702 in response to detecting the placement of the playbackdevice 502. Other examples are also possible.

b. Determining that the Second Playback Device is a Part of a SecondZone

At block 704, the method 700 involves determining that the secondplayback device is a part of a second zone. Continuing with the exampleabove, upon identifying the playback device 504 within the proximity ofthe playback device 504, the playback device 502 may determine that thatplayback device 504 is a part of the living room zone and not a part ofthe balcony zone.

In one example, the playback device 502 may determine that the playbackdevice 504 is a part of the living room zone by transmitting to theplayback device 504 a request for information associated with theplayback device 504, and subsequently receive information from theplayback device 504 indicating that the playback device 504 is a part ofthe living room zone.

In another example, the playback device 502 may determine that theplayback device 504 is a part of the living room zone by transmitting toone or more playback devices in the media playback system 500 (includingor excluding the playback device 502), a request for informationassociated with the playback device 504, and subsequently receiveinformation from the one or more playback devices in the media playbacksystem 500, information indicating that the playback device 504 is apart of the living room zone.

In yet another example, the playback device 502 may determine that theplayback device 504 is a part of the living room zone by retrieving alocally stored state variable associated with the playback device 504.For instance, the playback device 502 (and one or more other playbackdevices in the media playback system 500) may maintain state variablesassociated with itself and other playback devices in the media playbacksystem 500. A state variable may be updated for a corresponding playbackdevice periodically and/or when a configuration and/or status of thecorresponding playback device changes. For instance, a state variablecorresponding to the playback device 504 may have been updated when theplayback device 504 became a part of the living room zone. As such, theplayback device 502 may retrieve the locally stored state variable thatis associated with the playback device 504 to determine that theplayback device 504 is a part of the living room. Other examples arealso possible.

c. Responsively, Transmitting a Command to Cause the Second PlaybackDevice to (i) Join the First Zone and (ii) Play the Media Item inSynchrony with the First Playback Device

At block 706, the method 700 involves responsively, transmitting acommand to cause the second playback device to (i) join the first zoneand (ii) play the media item in synchrony with the first playbackdevice. Continuing with the example above, the playback device 502 maytransmit to the playback device 504, a command to cause the playbackdevice 502 to join the balcony zone and begin to play the media item insynchrony with the playback device 502. In one case, causing theplayback device 504 to join the balcony zone may accordingly cause theplayback device 504 to begin playing the media item as part of thebalcony zone, which involves playing the media item in synchrony withthe playback device 502. As indicated above, U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395entitled, “System and method for synchronizing operations among aplurality of independently clocked digital data processing devices,”which is hereby incorporated by reference, provides in more detail someexamples for audio playback synchronization among playback devices.

In one example, a playback volume of the playback device 504 when theplayback device 504 begins to play the media content in synchrony withthe playback device 502 may be determined by the playback device 504. Inanother example, the playback volume of the playback device 504 when theplayback device begins to play the media content in synchrony with theplayback device 502 may be according to the command transmitted from theplayback device 502 to the playback device 504 to cause the playbackdevice 504 to join the balcony zone and play the media item in synchronywith the playback device 502.

In one case, the command may cause the playback device 504 to beginplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 502 at avolume level that the playback device 504 was previously playing mediacontent. In another case, the command may cause the playback device 504to begin playing the media item in synchrony with the playback device502 at a particular volume level determined based on a playback volumelevel of the playback device 502. In one instance, if the playbackdevice 504 is a same type of playback device as the playback device 502(i.e. same model), the particular volume level may be the same as thevolume level of the playback device 502. In another instance, if theplayback device 504 has a lower audio output power (i.e. lower wattageamplifier, among other possibilities), the particular volume level maybe higher than the volume level of the playback device 502 to properlymatch the volume output of the playback device 502. analogously, if theplayback device 504 has a higher audio output power (i.e. higher wattageamplifier, among other possibilities), the particular volume level maybe lower than the volume level of the playback device 502. Otherexamples are also possible.

In a further case, the command may cause the playback device 504, whenbeginning to play the media item in synchrony with the playback device502, to gradually increase a playback volume of the media item from afirst playback volume to a second playback volume over a duration oftime. In this example, the first playback volume may be a volume levelof zero, and the second playback volume may be the particular playbackvolume determined based on the playback volume of the playback device502, as discussed above. Examples of the duration of time may beanywhere between 3 to 15 seconds. In one instance, the volume increasefrom the first playback volume to the second playback volume may beperformed at a predetermined rate, such as 2 volume units per second. Inthis instance, the duration of time may vary based on the differencebetween the first playback volume and the second playback volume. Otherexamples are also possible.

In one example, the command from the playback device 502 to cause theplayback device 504 to join the balcony zone and begin to play the mediaitem in synchrony with the playback device 502 may further include acommand to cause the playback device 504 to provide an indication to anyusers or listeners in the playback environment that the playback device504 is joining the balcony zone. The indication may include one or moreof a playback of an audio signal, a flashing of a light source on theplayback device 504, and a vibration of the playback device 504, amongother possibilities.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the playback device 502, after being placed atlocation B in the living room zone such that the playback device 504 iswithin the proximity of the playback device 502, may be subsequentlymoved to location C in the dining room zone. In one example, theplayback device 502 may be subsequently moved from the location B beforethe playback device 504 has completed a process of joining the balconyzone and/or beginning to play the media item in synchrony with theplayback device 502. This may be the case when a user who is moving theplayback device 502 from the balcony to the dining room, on the way tothe dining room, temporarily places the playback device 502 in theliving room near the playback device 504 before eventually moving theplayback device 502 to the dining room. The user may perhaps be droppingoff an item from the balcony in the living room and/or picking up anitem in the living room to also bring to the dining room when theplayback device 502 is temporarily placed at location B. Whichever thecase, the temporary placement of the playback device 502 in the livingroom near the playback device 504 may accordingly cause the playbackdevice 502 to begin performing the method 700.

In one example, if the playback device 502 detects movement of theplayback device 502 (i.e. via the one or more movement sensors) within apredetermined duration of time after transmitting the command cause theplayback device 504 to join the balcony zone and begin playing the mediaitem in synchrony with the playback device 502, the playback device 502may transmit to the playback device 504, a command to cause the playbackdevice 504 to abort joining the balcony zone and cease beginning to playthe media item.

The predetermined duration of time may be determined based on anexpected duration of time between when the playback device 502 transmitsthe command to cause the playback device 504 to join the balcony zoneand begin playing the media item in synchrony with the playback device502 and when the playback device 504 completes joining the balcony zoneand beginning playback the media item in synchrony with the playbackdevice 502. In one case, the predetermined duration of time may includethe duration of time for the playback volume of the media item by theplayback device 504 to increase to the particular playback volumedetermined based on the playback volume of the playback device 502, asdiscussed above. Other examples are also possible.

In another example, the command transmitted from the playback device 502to the playback device 504 to cause the playback device 504 to join thebalcony zone and begin playing the media item in synchrony with theplayback device 502 may further include a command to cause the playbackdevice 504 to transmit a confirmation message upon completion of joiningthe balcony zone and beginning to play the media item in synchrony withthe playback device 502. In this example, if the playback device 502detects movement of the playback device 502 prior to receiving theconfirmation message from the playback device 504, the playback device502 may transmit to the playback device 504, a command to cause theplayback device 504 to abort joining the living room zone and ceasebeginning to play the media. Other examples are also possible.

VII. Fourth Example Method for Playback Expansion

As shown in FIG. 7B, the method 750 involves at block 752, determiningby a first playback device that is a part of a first zone, that a secondplayback device has entered within a proximity of the first playbackdevice; at block 754, determining that the second playback device isplaying a media item as part of a second zone; and at block 756, basedon the determination, (i) joining the second zone and (ii) beginning toplay the media item in synchrony with the second playback device. Themethod 750 involves the first playback device expanding playback of themedia item from the second playback device to the first playback devicewhen the second playback device is placed within the proximity of thefirst playback device.

a. Determining that a Second Playback Device has Entered within aProximity of the First Playback Device

At block 752, the method 750 involves determining by a first playbackdevice that is a part of a first zone, that a second playback device hasentered within a proximity of the first playback device. Referring toFIG. 5A for illustrative purposes, the first playback device may be theplayback device 504, the first zone may be a living room zone, and thesecond playback device may be the playback device 502.

As shown, the playback device 504 may be a part of the living room zone,when the playback device 502 moved to location B, within a proximity ofthe playback device 504. In one example, the playback device 504 may bepowered from an external power source while the playback device 502 maybe powered from an internal battery.

With playback device 502 now at location B, the playback device 504 maydetermine that the playback device 502 has entered within the proximityof playback device 504. In one example, the playback device 504 maydetermine that the playback device 502 has entered within the proximityof the playback device 504 based on one or more proximity sensors on theplayback device 504. The one or more proximity sensors may include oneor more of a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, a laser sensor, amagnetic sensor, an infrared sensor, a photo-sensor, an acoustic sensor,and a wireless signal sensor, among other possibilities.

In one instance, a wireless signal sensor of the playback device 504 maydetect a wireless signal emitted from a playback device with a signalstrength that is now above a threshold value, indicating that theplayback device has now entered within the proximity of the playbackdevice 504. Based on the detection, the playback device 504 may parsethe detected wireless signal to identify the playback device 502 as thesource of the detected wireless signal and accordingly, as the playbackdevice within the proximity of the playback device 504.

In another instance, a photo-sensor on the playback device 504 maydetect that a playback device has entered within a proximity (i.e.photo-sensing range) of the playback device 504. The playback device504, in response to the detection, may transmit to the detected playbackdevice, a request for information identifying the detected playbackdevice, and subsequently identify the playback device 502 as thedetected playback device based on a received response to the request.Other examples for identifying the playback device 502 as the playbackdevice that has entered within the proximity of the first playbackdevice are also possible.

b. Determining that the Second Playback Device is Playing a Media Itemas Part of a Second Zone

At block 754, the method 750 involves determining that the secondplayback device is playing a media item as part of a second zone.Continuing with the example above, upon determining that the playbackdevice 502 has entered within the proximity of the playback device 504,the playback device 504 may determine that that playback device 502 isplaying a media item as a part of the balcony zone and is not a part ofthe living room zone.

In one example, the playback device 504 may determine that the playbackdevice 502 is playing the media item as part of the balcony zone bytransmitting to the playback device 502 a request for informationassociated with the playback device 502, and subsequently receiveinformation from the playback device 502 indicating that the playbackdevice 502 is playing the media item and is a part of the balcony zone.

In another example, the playback device 504 may determine that theplayback device 502 is playing the media item as part of the balconyzone by transmitting to one or more playback devices in the mediaplayback system 500 (including or excluding the playback device 504), arequest for information associated with the playback device 502, andsubsequently receive information from the one or more playback devicesin the media playback system 500, information indicating that theplayback device 502 is playing the media item as part of the balconyzone.

In yet another example, the playback device 502 may determine that theplayback device 502 is playing the media item as part of the balconyzone by retrieving a locally stored state variable associated with theplayback device 502. For instance, the playback device 504 (and one ormore other playback devices in the media playback system 500) maymaintain state variables associated with itself and other playbackdevices in the media playback system 500. A state variable may beupdated for a corresponding playback device periodically and/or when aconfiguration and/or status of the corresponding playback devicechanges. For instance, a state variable corresponding to the playbackdevice 502 may be updated when the playback device 502 began playing themedia item as part of the balcony zone. As such, the playback device 504may retrieve the locally stored state variable that is associated withthe playback device 502 to determine that the playback device 502 isplaying the media item as part of the balcony zone. Other examples arealso possible.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the playback device 502 moved from location A tolocation B, within the proximity of the playback device 504. In oneexample, block 754 may be performed by the playback device 504 once theplayback device 504 determines that the playback device 502 has enteredwithin the proximity of the playback device 504. In another example, theplayback device 504 may determine that the playback device 502 has beenplaced, and is not actively in transition, before performing block 754.

In one case, the playback device 504 may determine using the one or moreproximity sensors on the playback device 504, whether the playbackdevice 502 is still in transition. For instance, if the one or moreproximity sensors detect a substantially consistent presence of theplayback device 502 within the proximity of the playback device 504, theplayback device 504 may determine that the playback device 502 has beenplaced and proceed to perform block 754. In another instance, if the oneor more proximity sensors detect a substantially varying presence of theplayback device 502 within the proximity of the playback device 504, theplayback device 504 may determine that the playback device 502 has notbeen placed and may not proceed to perform block 754.

In another case, the playback device 504, prior to performing block 754,may transmit to the playback device 502 a request for informationindicating whether the playback device 502 has been placed. The playbackdevice 504 may then determine whether to proceed to perform block 754based on a response from the playback device 502 indicating whether theplayback device 502 has been placed. As indicated previously, theplayback device 502 may include one or more movement sensors (i.e.accelerometers, among other possibilities) to determine whether theplayback device 502 has been placed. Other examples are also possible.

c. Based on the Determination, (i) Joining the Second Zone and (ii)Begin to Play the Media Item in Synchrony with the Second PlaybackDevice

At block 756, the method 750 involves based on a determination, (i) jointhe second zone and (ii) begin to play the media item in synchrony withthe second playback device. Continuing with the example above, theplayback device 504 may join the balcony zone and begin playing themedia item in synchrony with the playback device 502. In other words,the playback device 504 may join the balcony zone, and accordingly beginplaying the media item as part of the balcony zone, which involvesplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 502. Asindicated above, U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,395 entitled, “System and methodfor synchronizing operations among a plurality of independently clockeddigital data processing devices,” which is hereby incorporated byreference, provides in more detail some examples for audio playbacksynchronization among playback devices.

In one example, if the playback device 504 proceeded to block 754 fromblock 752 without determining whether the playback device 502 has beenplaced, the playback device 504 may determine whether the playbackdevice 502 has been placed prior to performing block 756.

In one example, the playback device 504 may begin playing the media itemin synchrony with the playback device 502 at a volume level that theplayback device 504 was previously playing media content. In anotherexample, the playback device 504 may begin playing the media item insynchrony with the playback device 502 at a particular volume leveldetermined based on a playback volume level of the playback device 502.In one case, if the playback device 504 is a same type of playbackdevice as the playback device 502 (i.e. same model), the particularvolume level may be the same as the volume level of the playback device502. In another case, if the playback device 504 has a lower audiooutput power (i.e. lower wattage amplifier, among other possibilities),the particular volume level may be higher than the volume level of theplayback device 502 to properly match the volume output of the playbackdevice 502. Analogously, if the playback device 504 has a higher audiooutput power (i.e. higher wattage amplifier, among other possibilities),the particular volume level may be lower than the volume level of theplayback device 502. Other cases are also possible.

In a further example, the playback device 504, when beginning to playthe media item in synchrony with the playback device 502, may graduallyincrease a playback volume of the media item from a first playbackvolume to a second playback volume over a duration of time. In thisexample, the first playback volume may be a volume level of zero, andthe second playback volume may be the particular playback volumedetermined based on the playback volume of the playback device 502, asdiscussed above. Examples of the duration of time may be anywherebetween 3 to 15 seconds. In one case, the volume increase from the firstplayback volume to the second playback volume may be performed at apredetermined rate, such as 2 volume units per second. In this case, theduration of time may vary based on the difference between the firstplayback volume and the second playback volume. Other examples are alsopossible.

Once the playback device 504 has joined the balcony zone and begunplaying the media item in synchrony with the playback device 502, theplayback device 504 may provide an indication to any users or listenersin the playback environment that the playback device 504 is joining orhas joined the living room zone. The indication may include one or moreof a playback of an audio signal, a flashing of a light source on theplayback device 504, and a vibration of the playback device 504, amongother possibilities.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the playback device 502, after entering within theproximity of the playback device 504 and/or being placed at location B,in the living room zone, may be subsequently moved to location C in thedining room zone. In one example, the playback device 502 may besubsequently moved from the location B before the playback device 504has completed a process of joining the balcony zone and/or beginning toplay the media item in synchrony with the playback device 502. This maybe the case when a user, who is moving the playback device 502 from thebalcony to the dining room, on the way to the dining room, temporarilyplaces the playback device 502 in the living room near the playbackdevice 504 before eventually moving the playback device 502 to thedining room. The user may perhaps be dropping off an item from thebalcony in the living room and/or picking up an item in the living roomto also bring to the dining room when the playback device 502 istemporarily placed at location B. Whichever the case, the temporaryplacement of the playback device 502 in the living room near theplayback device 504 may accordingly cause the playback device 504 tobegin performing the method 750.

In this example, if the playback device 504, while in the process ofjoining the balcony zone and/or beginning to play the media item insynchrony with the playback device 502, determines that the playbackdevice 502 is moving, the playback device 504 may responsively, abortjoining the living room zone and cease beginning to play the media item.In one case, the process of joining the balcony zone and beginning toplay the media item in synchrony with the playback device 502 mayinclude the increasing of the playback volume of the media item by theplayback device 504 to the particular playback volume determined basedon the playback volume of the playback device 502, as discussed above.Other examples are also possible.

In one case, the playback device 504 may determine that the playbackdevice 502 is moving if the one or more proximity sensors on theplayback device 504 detect a substantially varying presence of theplayback device 502 within the proximity of the playback device 504. Inanother case, the playback device 504 may determine that the playbackdevice 502 is moving if the playback device 504 receives from theplayback device 502, information indicating that the playback device 502is moving. Other examples are also possible.

VIII. Additional Examples

In addition to those provided above, other examples are also possible.While the above examples provide mechanism for a playback device todiscover and identify another playback device within a proximity, onehaving ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that variations of theprovided mechanisms and other such mechanisms are also possible. In oneexample, communication between the one or more playback devices mayoccur over one or more communication protocols, including WI-FI®,BLUETOOTH®, or NFC, among other possibilities. As such, a manner inwhich one playback device discovers and identifies another playbackdevice may vary depending on communication protocol(s) enabled and usedfor communication between two playback devices.

For instance, according to a WI-FI® protocol, each playback device maybe assigned a unique media access control (MAC) address. As such, aplayback device may be identified according to the associated MACaddress of the playback device. In another instance, if a BLUETOOTH®protocol is enabled on two playback devices, the two playback devicesmay follow a pairing procedure to share information upon the twoplayback devices entering within a proximity of each other. In a furtherinstance, if NFC is enabled on two playback devices, information may beshared between the two playback devices according to one or more NFCprotocols. Different pairs of playback devices in the media playbacksystem may communicate according to different protocols, and accordinglymay discover and identify each other according to different mechanisms.

While the above examples generally refer to a playback device joining azone of another playback device that is already playing a media item,one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the playbackdevice may be configured to automatically join the zone of the otherplayback device based on proximity, whether or not the other playbackdevice is playing a media item. In one example, a first playback devicethat is being powered by an internal battery may be configured toautomatically join the zone of a second playback that is being poweredby an external source, regardless of which, if any of the two playbackdevices are playing any media content. Other scenarios andimplementations within which a playback device may join the zone ofanother playback device based on proximity are also possible.

While the above examples generally refer to a playback device joining azone of another playback device to play media content in synchrony withthe other playback device as part of the same zone, one having ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that playback devices may play mediacontent in synchrony as a consolidated player, as playback deviceswithin the same zone, and as playback devices of different zones withina zone group, among other possibilities. As such, other scenarios andimplementations within which playback of a media item may be expanded toa playback device that was not previously playing the media item arealso possible. For instance, playback of a media item by a firstplayback device may be expanded to a second playback device with thesecond playback device joining a zone of the first playback device (asdescribed), forming a new zone with the first playback device, forming azone group including the zone of the first playback device and a zone ofthe second playback device, or without any zone modifications at all,among other possibilities.

While the above examples generally refer to a playback volume of a firstplayback device joining a zone as being based on a playback volume of asecond playback device that is already playing a media item as a part ofthe zone and that is within a proximity of the first playback device,one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the playbackvolume of the first playback device may be based on additional factors.For instance, if the zone includes a plurality of other playback devicesin addition to the second playback device, the playback volume of thefirst playback device joining the zone may be based on any one or moreof the playback devices in the zone. In another instance, playbackvolumes of the one or more playback devices already in the zone may alsobe modified in response to the joining of the first playback device.

While the above examples generally refer to a playback deviceautomatically joining a zone of another playback device to play mediacontent in synchrony with the other playback device as part of the samezone, one having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that in somecases, a user of the media playback system may be prompted, such as viaa controller interface for the media playback system, to allow or denythe joining of the zone by the playback device prior to the playbackdevice joining the zone.

While the above examples generally refer to the playback device that isjoining the zone as being the playback device that provides anindication that the playback device is joining the zone, one havingordinary skill in the art will appreciate that in some cases, one ormore playback devices in the zone, one or more playback devices in themedia playback system, or one or more controller devices within thezone, among other possibilities, may also provide indication that theplayback device is joining the zone.

While the above examples provide mechanisms to abort joining of a zoneby a playback device and cessation of the playback device beginning toplay a media item in synchrony with a playback device in the zone, onehaving ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other mechanismsfor addressing temporary placements and/or enterings of playback deviceproximities are also possible. For instance, referring to the examplesprovided in sections IV.-VIII., each of methods 600, 650, 700, and 750above may further include a function to determine that the playbackdevice 502 has been at location B for a threshold duration of timebefore the methods 600, 650, 700, and 750, as described above, areperformed.

Other examples are also possible.

IX. Conclusion

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyway(s) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A first playback device comprising: aprocessor; and memory having stored thereon instructions executable bythe processor to cause the first playback device to perform functionscomprising: while the first playback device is a part of a first zone,identifying that the first playback device has moved to a location thatis within a given physical proximity to a second playback device;determining that the second playback device is playing a media item aspart of a second zone; and based on the determination, (i) joining thesecond zone and (ii) beginning to play the media item in synchrony withthe second playback device.
 2. The first playback device of claim 1,wherein the functions further comprise: prior to identifying the secondplayback device, detecting a placement of the first playback device. 3.The first playback device of claim 1, wherein the first playback devicefurther comprises a battery.
 4. The first playback device of claim 1,wherein the second playback device is powered by an external powersource.
 5. The first playback device of claim 1, wherein beginning toplay the media item in synchrony with the second playback devicecomprises: gradually increasing a playback volume of the media item froma first playback volume to a second playback volume over a duration oftime, the second playback volume corresponding to a playback volume ofthe second playback device.
 6. The first playback device of claim 1,wherein the functions further comprise: providing an indication that thefirst playback device is joining the second zone, the indicationcomprising one or more of: (a) a playback of an audio signal, (b) aflashing of a light source on the first playback device, and (c) avibration of the first playback device.
 7. The first playback device ofclaim 1, wherein the functions further comprise: while beginning to playthe media item in synchrony with the second playback device, detectingmovement of the first playback device; and responsively, (i) abortingjoining the second zone and (ii) ceasing beginning to play the mediaitem in synchrony with the second playback device.
 8. A first playbackdevice comprising: a processor; and memory having stored thereoninstructions executable by the processor to cause the first playbackdevice to perform functions comprising: while the first playback deviceis playing a media item as a part of a first zone, determining that asecond playback device has moved to a location that is within a givenphysical proximity to the first playback device; determining that thesecond playback device is a part of a second zone; and responsively,transmitting a command to cause the second playback device to (i) jointhe first zone and (ii) begin playing the media item in synchrony withthe first playback device.
 9. The first playback device of claim 8,wherein the functions further comprise: prior to transmitting thecommand, determining that the second playback device has been placed.10. The first playback device of claim 8, wherein determining that thesecond playback device is a part of a second zone comprises:transmitting a request for information on the second playback device;and receiving data indicating that the second playback device is a partof the second zone.
 11. The first playback device of claim 8, whereinthe second playback device further comprises a battery.
 12. The firstplayback device of claim 8, wherein the first playback device is poweredby an external power source.
 13. The first playback device of claim 8,wherein the command to cause the second playback device to begin to playthe media item in synchrony with the first playback device comprises acommand to cause the second playback device to gradually increase aplayback volume of the media item by the second playback device from afirst playback volume to a second playback volume over a duration oftime, the second playback volume corresponding to a playback volume ofthe first playback device.
 14. The first playback device of claim 8,wherein the command to cause the second playback device to (i) join thefirst zone and (ii) begin to play the media item in synchrony with thefirst playback device comprises a command to cause the second playbackdevice to provide an indication that the second playback device isjoining the first zone, the indication comprising one or more of: (a) aplayback of an audio signal, (b) a flashing of a light source on thesecond playback device, and (c) a vibration of the second playbackdevice.
 15. The first playback device of claim 8, wherein the functionsfurther comprise: within a predetermined duration of time aftertransmitting the command, determining that the second playback device ismoving; and responsively, transmitting a command to cause the secondplayback device to (i) abort joining the first zone and (i) ceasebeginning to play the media.
 16. A method comprising: identifying, by afirst playback device that is a part of a first zone, that the firstplayback device has moved to a location that is within a given physicalproximity to a second playback device; determining that the secondplayback device is playing a media item as part of a second zone; andbased on the determination, (i) joining the second zone and (ii)beginning to play the media item in synchrony with the second playbackdevice.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: while the firstplayback device is playing the media item as a part of the second zone,determining by the first playback device, that a third playback devicehas entered within a given physical proximity of the first playbackdevice; determining that the third playback device is in a third zone;and responsively, transmitting a command to cause the third playbackdevice to (i) join the second zone and (ii) begin to play the media itemin synchrony with the first playback device.
 18. The method of claim 16,further comprising: prior to identifying the second playback device,detecting by the first playback device, a placement of the firstplayback device.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first playbackdevice further comprises a battery.
 20. The method of claim 16, whereinthe second playback device is powered by an external power source.